Jerry Brown to SF Mayor: Twitter This

ABC News’ Teddy Davis reports: When the California Supreme Court hears oral arguments Thursday in the Proposition 8 same-sex marriage case, Attorney Gen. Jerry Brown is promising to offer his two-cents via Twitter. "If you check Jerry’s Facebook Page or Twitter feed during the session, he’ll be providing periodic comments," the Attorney General’s wife, Anne Gust Brown, writes in a Wednesday evening e-mail to her husband’s political backers. Brown’s decision to Twitter while oral arguments are taking place in the Prop. 8 case is his latest effort not to cede a technological edge to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, a top Democratic rival in the 2010 California governor’s race who is 29 years younger and has been highlighting the age disparity by saying he sat on Brown’s lap as a tyke. Thursday’s Twittering is not Brown’s first move to combat Newsom. Previously, he joined a Facebook fad and posted "25 random things about me." Brown’s list included this gem: "The first time I became Governor, I followed an Actor (Ronald Reagan)," a statement which conjured not only Brown’s 1974 election but also his hope of making the 2010 race to replace Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) the second time that Brown follows an actor into the governor’s office. In his wife’s Wednesday e-mail to supporters announcing his Twitter plans, Brown does not disclose where he will be during oral arguments. His spokesman, Scott Gerber, expects the Attorney General to be watching on television from his San Francisco office while Senior Assistant Attorney General Chris Krueger appears in court. Newsom’s staff knows that the 70-year old Brown, a former two-term governor and three-time presidential candidate, is better known statewide. They are hoping, however, that the 41-year old Newsom can take a page from the playbook of President Obama’s 2008 campaign and use technology to topple a more seasoned rival. The Brown-Newsom technological competition got started when Newsom launched a successful campaign to attract 30,000 Facebook friends in 30 days. Newsom also drew attention to his "tweets" when he announced via Twitter that his wife, actress Jennifer Siebel Newsom, is expectig a baby in September. He now has more than 17,000 followers on Twitter. "We’re going to be talking a lot about the future," Newsom told ABC News when he was in Washington for Obama’s inauguration. "Those who think they have this locked up are underestimating the capacity of the voters to have a real choice." The California Supreme Court is slated to hear oral arguments in the Prop. 8 case at 12:00 pm ET on Thursday. They can be viewed online at www.calchannel.com